An interim report by the team says Col Ghassan Tufayli, the head of a military intelligence surveillance unit made transcripts of Hariri's calls and passed them to Gen Azar and Armed Forces Chief Michel Suleiman.

Col Tufayli told the inquiry that Gen Azar then sent the transcripts to Lebanese President Emile Lahoud and to the then head of the Syrian military intelligence service in Lebanon, Gen Rustom Ghazali.

Later this week, five senior Syrian officials also implicated in the inquiry's report are expected to be questioned in Vienna by the head of the UN team, Detlev Mehlis.

Reports from Lebanon suggest the officials include the head of Syrian military intelligence, Assef Shawkat, a brother-in-law of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.